GIS Day on Wednesday November 19th

The Map Library and the Faculty of Environment are hosting UW's fifth annual GIS Day Event between 11:30 and 2:30 in the EV1 couryard tomorrow. There are lots of great activities planned for tomorrow including poster presentations, cake, door prizes and a hands-on GPS and Google Earth session. Please register for the event at : http://www.environment.uwaterloo.ca/gisday/2008/

Student Licenses for ArcGIS at $25.00

Students can now get a one-year ArcGIS software license for $25.00. Students, if you require your own copy of the program for academic purposes, please contact Sandra Laughlin in IST to purchase a copy.

Sandra Laughlin
Info Systems and Technology MC 2008
Mail: laughlin@ist.uwaterloo.ca

Collection Update

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps : Trial until November 25th, 2008

The Map Library is pleased to offer you for a limited time trial access to the American Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, 1867-1970. These large-scale plans provide extensive building and property information including building outline, size, shape and construction materials, height, location of windows, doors and more. Buildings include residential, commercial, industrial and other. The maps also provide street names, street and sidewalk widths, property boundaries and house numbers. The collection consists of over 660,000 maps of 12,000 American cities and towns.

This collection is available from Proquest where the maps can be downloaded and printed in Adobe PDF. This resource can be found on the Library’s website by visiting the Research Databases page , click the letter S in the A-Z browse list, and scroll to Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps.

GIS Data Update :

DMTI

DMTI has released its v2008.3 CanMap datasets for Canada. The Library has also acquired a new product this year called Neighbourhood and Community Boundaries. The Neighbourhood Boundaries are only available in urban areas and Community Boundaries are available in both urban and rural areas. For more information, please visit DMTI Spatial.

City of Kitchener

The Map Library has received the annual update for Kitchener's Municipal data. Updated layers include building footprints, double and single line street network, landmarks, address points, surface waters, community trails, ward boundaries, zoning, etc.

UW Campus 2008

Received from UW Plant Operations, an updated version of UW campus data in DWG AutoCad format. Both the north and south campus is included in this 2008 update. Staff will convert the Cad files to GIS Shapefiles within the next several months.

Looking for Poster Presenters for GIS Day

The Map Library in collaboration with Mapping, Analysis and Design (MAD)will be hosting the fifth annual GIS Day on Wednesday November 19th. The event will include poster presentations showing the work of students, faculty and staff. The planning committee is encouraging everybody who has worked with GIS to showcase their research in a poster format. Poster presenters must be available on GIS Day to talk about their poster. For more information, please contact Eva Dodsworth, x36931.

Additional workshop sessions offered

Due to popular demand, the library has opened up two addition time slots for each GIS session being offered at the Flexlab in October. Recently added:

Intro to GIS Software : Oct 1, 10:00 am
Intro to GIS Software : Oct 3rd, 3:00 pm

Google Earth : More than Imagery : Oct 6th, 3:00 pm
Google Earth : More than Imagery : Oct 17th, 10:00 am

Spaces are limited!

Eva

Pre-Fall term update

The Map Library is buzzing with busyness as the staff prepare for the fall term. There are two special GIS workshops being offered in the fall term, and a handful of podcasts that have just been created by Eva.

During the week of September 15th, the Map Library is hosting an Art Show in the ML Gallery entitled Geo-Abstract. Be sure not to miss this event.

The Map Library would also like to welcome back Ksenia Bronicki who returns from maternity leave. Ksenia is the Map Library's Library Clerk who is responsible primarily for reserves, fines, circulation and training.

Map Library in the News

Read the summer issue of News & Your Library to learn more about the Map Library's Historical Air Photo Project.

http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/newsatlib/080717/digitization.html

Data Update for Spring Term

The Map Library has recently recieved new and updated geospatial data:

From Teranet, Inc (July, 2008), updated property parcels in Shapefile format including:

* Waterloo ownership
* Wellington ownership
* Hamilton ownership
* Huron ownership
* Oxford ownership
* Perth ownership
* Bruce assessment
* Lambton assessment

Received the following Teranet parcel boundaries on 19 June from the University of Toronto under a sublicensing agreement:

* Frontenac ownereship 2007
* Lennox assessment 2007
* Northumerland assessment 2007
* Durham ownership 2007
* Peel ownership 2007


Received the following Teranet parcel boundaries in early June from the University of Guelph under a sublicensing agreement:

* Halton assessment 2008
* Halton ownership 2005


Accompanying each ownership shapefile is a basic property report.
Coordinate system: UTM zone 17 NAD83

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From the Region of Waterloo (July, 2008), Traffic Zones for the Regional Municipality of Waterloo in Shapefile format. The polygon features were created in 2006. Attributes include house holds in 2004 and 2005, total population in each zone in 2004 and 2005, total employment in each zone in 2001, 2004, 2005, and the number of post-secondary students in 2005.

Coordinate system: UTM zone 17 NAD83

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From the City of Brampton, July, 2008) City of Brampton Municipal Data and Orthoimagery.
Municipal data includes the following layers:

* double line roads
* single line streets
* building footprints
* contours, 1 m
* hydrology
* wooded areas
* Official Plan landuse
* zoning
* hydrants
* curbs, sidewalks, painted lines
* catchbasins (i.e., grates)
* manholes
* hydro poles
* bridges
* guard rails
* fences
* telecom towers
* turn arrows (left, right, straight through)
* parking lots
* railways

All datasets are 2007 except zoning and single line streets, both of which are June 2008. Landuse is not current since it has not yet been approved by the City.

The orthomages were flown in early April 2008 and are 10cm pixel resolution. Data format is MrSID.
All datasets are in coordinate system UTM zone 17, NAD83.

Geospatial Dataset Updates

The Map Library is pleased to announce that SOLRIS' land cover data is now available for all of southwestern Ontario, Central Ontario, and Eastern Ontario.

The Southern Ontario Land Resource Information System (SOLRIS) is a landscape-level inventory of natural, rural and urban areas. Inventory categories include, for example, shorelines, tallgrass savanah, coniferous forest, swamp, built-up area, and so on. There are a total of 23 landcover categories plus open water and undifferentiated (largely cropland).

More information available from : http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/locations/umd/digital/SOLRIS.html

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In April, 2008 the Map Library had acquired environmental data from the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA). Included in this dataset are:


natural cover: beach/bluff, forest, meadow, succession, wetland
vegetation type (polygons): these are community types (e.g., sumac cultural thicket, willow shrub beach, dry-fresh oak-hardwood deciduous forest)
fauna (21,000 points): significant species (e.g., birds, squirrels, frogs: alder flycatcher, bobolink, red squirrel, western chorus frog)
flora (44,000 points): significant species (e.g., woodfern, shagbark hickory)

municipality boundaries

water bodies
water courses
watersheds
TRCA properties
contours 1m

Please visit the Map Library for data access.

Map Library offers Scanned and Digitized Historical Photos of KW

The Map Library is pleased to share its archival and digitization efforts with the UW campus and community at large. After several months of scanning, digitizing and georeferencing air photos from the 1930s and 1940s, a webpage is now available that showcases these photos. Although the project is not complete yet, central rural areas of Kithener and Waterloo are available for the years 1930 and 1945. Everybody is invited to view and download these images. Images are available in jpg, tiff, pdf and kml formats. Kml can be brought into Google Earth for geospatial viewing.

Please visit : http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/locations/umd/project/

New Dataset : City of Cambridge Municipal Data

The University Map Library has recently received municipal data for the City of Cambridge providing topographic, planning and recreation information. Examples of features include:

- Heritage Designations
- Landmarks (Schools, fire stations, churches...)
- Sanitation and Storm Management
- Zoning and Offical Plan
- address points
- DTM

Please visit http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/locations/umd/digital/Cambridge.html
for list of complete features and more information.

New Spring Workshop Schedule

The Map Library has released its spring term workshop schedule. http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/locations/umd/digital/EventSchedule.html

Learn about using Google Earth as a personal map maker.
Find out how to visualize your popular 'list of things to do'.
Learn the basics of GIS techniques and methods - an introduction to GIS.

All workshops require registration.

See you there!

Creating Maps in Google Earth

A guide has been created that demonstrates how you can use Google Earth and Google Maps to create customized maps. Learn how to add your own geospatial features onto these online sites. If you're interested in a hands-on workshop or would like assistance converting your files to Google's KML format, please contact Eva Dodsworth.

Creating Maps in Google

City of Ottawa Vector and Image data

The University Map Library has recently received a collection of municipal datasets and orthoimages from the City of Ottawa. The 2005 orthoimages are full-colour, 20 cm resolution, comprising of 55 MrSID images in total, covering the City of Ottawa and parts of the City of Gatineau. For more information please visit : http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/locations/umd/digital/Image_Ottawa2005.html

The vector datasets are available at two different scale: 1:2,000 and 1:10,000. The larger-scale layers provide coverage of the urbanized area within the City of Ottawa and are dated 2004. The smaller scale layers cover the entire City of Ottawa and are dated 2008. For a complete list of features please visit : http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/locations/umd/digital/ncr_vector.html

Recommended GIS Software

The Map Library routinely updates it's recommended list of GIS software for its users. The most recent addition is the open source product MapWindows GIS.

From the website : http://www.mapwindow.com/

MapWindow GIS 4.0 Open Source Software
The MapWindow application is a free, extensible, geographic information system (GIS) that can be used in many ways:

As an alternative desktop GIS
To distribute data to others
To develop and distribute custom spatial data analyses
MapWinGIS ActiveX Control

At the core of the MapWindow application is the MapWinGIS ActiveX control. Using this control, you can program custom mapping functionality directly into your own software.
Open source component (free distribution)
Complete GIS API for shapefile and grid data
Many built in GIS functions

MapWindow includes standard GIS data visualization features as well as DBF attribute table editing, shapefile editing, and grid importing and conversion.

MapWinGIS ActiveX includes a GIS API for shapefile and grid data with many built in GIS functions.

The Map Library has updated its Recommended Software guide at :
http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/locations/umd/digital/gissoftware.html

GRCA now offers online downloads of SWOOP 30cm orthoimagery

The Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) is now offering the most recent orthoimagery available for our local area - the SWOOP colour 30cm collection which is available for download from their website : http://grims.grandriver.ca/imf/imf.jsp?site=grca_datadis&ddsid=6479e

Orthoimagery is available for the entire GRCA boundary and the user can define their own geographical extent of interest (within the boundary) and download the image as a jpeg 2000 image format.

For distribution purposes, GRCA applied a 40:1 compression to the original data and mosaiced to create 2km x 2km tiles.

SWOOP imagery is becoming freely available on the internet, but until now has only been available for viewing from sites such as The Region of Waterloo Locator. Having public access to the actual images is exciting news for both scholars and the community at large.

For those interested in crisper resolution, the University Map Library has 12 cm resolution for areas within the Region of Waterloo.

City of London 2007 Orthoimagery

In Feburary, 2008, the Map Library acquired from the City of London a MrSID orthoimage encompassing the City of London. This 1.1 GB image is in full colour with a resolution of 15 cm. http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/locations/umd/digital/LondonOrtho2007.html

SOLRIS : Version1_2 now Available

SOLRIS: Southern Ontario Land Resource Information System
The Southern Ontario Land Resource Information System (SOLRIS) is a landscape-level inventory of natural, rural and urban areas. Version 1_1 covering the GTA was released in 2007. Version 1_2 is now available for GTA plus part of southwestern Ontario.

SOLRIS was developed to support landscape-scale planning initiatives in southern Ontario such as Source Water Protection, Biodiversity Conservation, Natural Spaces, and State of Resources Reporting. The SOLRIS inventory is a compilation of data from various sources including topographic maps, aerial photos and satellite imagery. Computer modelling, visual interpretation and field validation were used to create a seamless inventory for Southern Ontario.

Inventory categories include, for example, shorelines, tallgrass savanah, coniferous forest, swamp, built-up area, and so on. A total of 23 categories.
Choice of shapefile and ESRI grid formats. Coordinate system: UTM zone 17, NAD83. Mapping of southern Ontario is due for completion in 2008.

Customizing Google Maps

You can easily create your own custom map for the world to see. Using KMZ files, I created a map of buildings on campus and highlights all the libraries. Click on the highlighted buildings to gain access to the library's website. For best results, view larger map and have your satellite image turned on.


View Larger Map

Orthoimagery Available

Sample image from GeoBase : City of Waterloo, 10 M panchromatic.

GeoBase Orthoimage 2005-2010. GeoBase Orthoimage 2005-2010 is made from SPOT 4/5 earth observation data covering Canada’s landmass south of the 81st parallel during the period 2005-2010. Orthoimages have a resolution of 10 metres for the panchromatic band and 20 metres for the multispectral bands.

Satellite StreetView : 60 cm resolution Quickbird satellite imagery for several cities in Canada, including Kitchener-Waterloo (30 cm). This product also includes CanMap street files.

General Information

Air Photo Digitization Project

The University of Waterloo Map Library is working an air photo digitization project that will place you on a 70-year old map. By using a third party resource that offers familiar streets and points of interests, you will be able to see how specific parts of towns looked like back in the 1930s and 1940s. Using Google Earth, you can find your home today and with a simple click find out how the land was used in 1930, and 1945-47. Combining the old and the new will place Tim Horton’s in the middle of a farmers field; will place the highway on top of an old stone school house and subdivisions on a gravel pit. Find the long lost forests, marshes, and small towns and make use of archival images that tell the story of time.In a few months the Map Library will provide access to these photos of Kitchener, Waterloo and surrounding areas in a variety of image formats for download: PDF, Tiff, GeoTiff and KMZ (for Google Earth). Providing these images in a georeferenced format will enable the GIS and non GIS users to use them in a variety of ways. Users can add the images into a GIS program such as ArcGIS and overlay their own datasets or they can open up the PDF and simply enjoy the photo for its natural quality. See article in News @ Your Library http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/newsatlib/080110/aerialphotography.html